


The Duty towards what's right

by Egwene



Series: The fifth Turtle [7]
Category: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TV 2012)
Genre: Developing Relationship, Duty, F/M, Falling In Love, Friendship, Love, Missions
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-18
Updated: 2019-07-01
Packaged: 2020-05-14 09:36:34
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,009
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19270591
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Egwene/pseuds/Egwene
Summary: Leo and Venus has just revealed their relationship to friends and family, and is slowly exploring unfamiliar ground together. But life is never that simplistic. The turtles stumble upon a new threat that cannot be left alone, and when digging into it, the extent of it grows clearer.





	1. What happened to Mondo?

**Author's Note:**

> For those of you who have read my one shots with Leo and Venus:  
> This story takes off where we left them in A new family. You will get to follow how they develope their relationship in greater detail, and eventually all the one shots will be included in this story, (and more will be added in due time).

Chapter 1

The loud snoring was abruptly interrupted by a distinct and attention seeking sound, but it was a few seconds before the newly awakened turtle could shake off the mists from a pleasant dream to determine what it was. The T-phone! Of course.  
Mikey’s hand fumbled across the floor, past pizza boxes, something gooey and something sticky before his three-fingered hand found what it was looking for. He pressed the button and held it to his ear slit.  
“Hello?”  
But the other end was just beeping, telling him he had missed the call. It must have taken him longer than his sleepy brain thought to answer it. The orange clad turtle sat up in his bed and emerged under a pile of blankets, another pizza box and empty chips bags to have a look. The call had been from Mondo Gecko.  
Mikey felt a wide smile planting itself on his face, his cool lizard friend probably wanted to meet up later tonight for some fun skateboarding. Suddenly full of energy he got up and hit the redial as he headed towards the kitchen. Several signals went through without an answer, and eventually he hung up, a little bewildered. Mondo was always quick to answer his phone, and he should literally have it in his hand since Mikey called him right back. He shrugged his shoulders and sent him a text instead about the skateboarding as he entered the kitchen.  
Leo and Venus immediately jumped apart, looking guilty.  
“Oh, hi Mikey”, Venus said, causing another wide smile to appear on his face. His sister was so cute when trying to sound casual. Leo was just as bad, staring at something on the floor with his arms crossed.  
“Well, hello turtledoves...”, he said sweetly, causing both of them to blush. Adorable!  
“Don’t mind me”, he blinked at them, “just pretend I’m not around and I’ll soon be out of here”.  
Venus gave an embarrassed giggle and Leo looked up at the ceiling instead while mildly shaking his head, but they also got back into each other's arms. They didn’t kiss, even though Mikey was quite sure that’s what they’d been doing.  
It had been some days since they officially told everybody about their relationship. While everybody approved, there had been some serious arguments about what was okay to display in public, especially with Raph… The hot headed turtle couldn’t stand walking in on them with their lips sealed together. Donnie said he didn’t mind, but he sure looked uncomfortable when he saw them too. Mikey on the other hand, only felt utterly happy for them. As for Leo himself, he didn’t like to get caught as kissing was something very private to him, but at the same time he was trippin on fluffy pink clouds and apparently couldn’t help himself when he thought no one was around.  
So the current rules were roughly this: Hand holding and hugging is tolerated, affectionate stroking of cheeks/ nuzzling and such is a grey zone, but visible kissing in any form is a No-no. The few times that their muscular brother had come to see it he had gone into a fit. That was probably the only time that Leo had folded so easily in an argument with Raph. But not Venus, oh no she hadn’t. She had calmly asked him to get a grip in that condescending tone that only she could master when talking to the hot head. Raph had responded with talk about showing respect for others, and the war of words had been a fact… Mikey had almost taken out a popcorn box while he watched the show, but only almost since all of them had been ready to step in had the discussion taken on a physical aspect.  
Mikey didn’t blame Raph for being touchy, he was sure it was a sign of him missing Mona Lisa. And who could judge him? No one knew when or if he would ever see her again. Mikey hadn’t talked to him about it though since he figured that Raph being Raph, the chance of him admitting it were pretty slim.  
After having fished out a spoon, some ice-cream and scratched Ice-cream kitty behind her ear, Mikey turned to his eldest brother.  
“So are we training today or what?”  
Leo nodded. “In fifteen minutes, so don’t stuff yourself.”  
Mikey saluted in recognition with the loaded spoon hanging from the corner of his mouth.  
It was the perfect amount of time to finish his snack and scan his T-phone again for messages before he had to join the line into the dojo. But the screen was empty, so he put it on silent and shoved it back into his belt before kneeling on the mat with the others. Mikey found himself between Donnie with a mildly blank stare, probably with thoughts on how to solve a problem on one of his inventions, and Leo who also seemed a little distant, but for a whole other reason since his head was slightly turned towards Ve and wore a silly smile to go with it. Mikey was just about to pinch him with a suppressed laugh when Sensei entered the dojo, and he immediately abandoned his train of thought to assume the correct position with hands on his knees.  
“Good afternoon to you”, Sensei’s deep voice rolled over them.  
“Good afternoon, Sensei”, they replied in unison.  
“Today we are focusing our efforts to enhance our form in different katas. We will do so by…” Sensei continued in a calm and steady tone while he instructed on the session. Mikey listened carefully, but it seemed not everybody did since their Master suddenly grew quiet, only for two seconds, but that still wasn’t a good sign.  
“Furthermore, we are adding a new exercise to the agenda.” And without warning, Sensei struck his staff at the top of Leo’s head. Quite hard too.  
“OOOUCH!!” he cried out with both hands over his head. The other brothers desperately tried to stifle their laughter, some succeeded better than others.  
“Leonardo, was there any particular reason for your thoughts to wander away from my instructions?”  
“They weren’t, Sensei!”, he squeeked in protest.  
“Oh, really?...”, their master replied sweetly while swinging his staff above the leader’s head this time, (the sound “AAHHH!” rang loudly and Leo threw himself to the floor without dignity and still with both arms over his head).  
“...Then I will pretend I didn’t see your head turn slightly to the side, but explain how it is possible that I managed to strike you the first time?”  
“Yeah, how’s that possible?”, Raph smuggly joined in, but he was rewarded with a stiff elbow in his side from Ve. Her stare held complete focus, but with Leo down Mikey could see her flushed cheeks that betrayed her.  
Leo’s stare travelled warily from Sensei’s staff, to the floor, then back up to meet his father’s eyes.  
“I… I’m sorry Sensei. I’ve brought shame to myself in your dojo by letting myself get distracted”, he replied mortified.  
“Always quick with self awareness”, Splinter smiled to himself while walking back and forth in front of them, effectively hushing up the remaining giggles with minor taps with his staff.  
“However, it is an issue of great concern. It is a wonderous thing that you are experiencing, something that I sincerely hope all of you will find some day…”, Sensei smiled, and made them all blush lightly, “... but if it draws your attention to a point where you fail to notice danger, it could have fatal consequences! Leonardo, you are still the leader of this team, and they need you focused and clear-headed in order to get home safely.”  
Leo bowed his head deep. “I understand, Sensei.”  
“Very good. Then we will make this a permanent exercise,” Splinter said.  
“Erm… what?”  
Their master faced them again and tapped his staff onto the floor to lend weight to his decision.  
“Raphael, Donatello and Michelangelo, if you ever notice Leonardo’s attention to his surroundings falter due to the said distraction, (the smallest nod towards Venus), you are allowed to strike him, hard, without consequences. Both in, and outside the lair.”  
“What?”  
“WHAT?”  
“Really?”  
“Oh man, I’m gonna enjoy this!”  
“But Sensei, even IN the lair?!”, Leo protested.  
“I will grant you respite in the privacy of your own room, but yes, in the lair too. It is of vital importance that you quickly relearn the ability to sense danger coming with this new distraction, even in places where you usually feel safe. Any questions?”  
“No, Sensei”, everybody responded, only one of them muttering.

The rest of the training went on as usual. Mikey did his best on the katas, paying more attention than he normally did in case Sensei was still on the lookout for unfocused students. He stole secret glances at Leo, mostly to follow his example as he performed every kata with perfection, but also to see if there was a chance to give him an opportunity to land a hit on the leader for losing his attention due to Venus. He might as well have tried to reach for the moon from the sewers though, as Leo never wavered an inch in concentration during the whole time, since he still was fuming from the embarrassment. Poor Donnie got a taste of his foul mood when the brother in purple attempted at a punch when he thought he was looking towards Ve. Highly perceptive as he was, Leo managed to catch his wrist and haul him over his shoulder in order to slam him to the floor. As Donnie got up catching his breath, he seemed to reach the same conclusion as Mikey; there was no way Leo would let his guard down in the dojo again. Oh well,.. there would be plenty of opportunities in the days to come, Mikey grinned inwardly to himself as he gave Donnie a comforting pat on the back.  
The second Sensei concluded the session, Mikey was out of the doors and picked up his phone. Still no message from Mondo. An unsettling sensation planted itself in his gut, it just wasn’t like the lizard. He tried to call him again but had to force himself to hang up after the twentieth signal without an answer. His skin began to prickle.  
“What’s wrong Mikey?” Raph asked, eyeing him from the sofa where he assumed a slouching position with a comic book. “You look more glassy-eyed than normal.”  
“It’s Mondo, he’s not answering his phone”, Mikey said with a worried voice. Raph merely snorted.  
“So what? He probably dropped it somewhere while skating and now he can’t find it. After all, he’s a lot like you, and I wouldn’t rise an eye ridge if you lost your T-phone.”  
“But he called me just before practise, and he didn’t answer when I called him right back!”  
Raph frowned.  
“Well… maybe he dropped it somewhere where he can’t retrieve it, like on somebody’s balcony, or in a drain.”  
“But he wouldn’t be out skating in the middle of the day….” Mikey protested.  
“Are you sure?” Raph gave him a look. “You have to admit, he’s not the smartest mutant in town, frankly I’m surprised he hasn’t wandered the streets in broad daylight and caused panic yet. I’m sure he’s fine”.  
“Maybe… but as soon as it’s dark, I’ll go check on him just to make sure. Will you come with me?  
“Come to see you and that knucklehead do even more knuckleheady things together? I think I’ll pass…”  
“Whatever! I’ll go by myself”, Mickey muttered as he stomped towards his bedroom.

An hour later Mikey raced the roof tops towards Mondo’s shack. The unsettling feeling in his gut hadn’t gone away, and wouldn’t either until he saw for himself that his friend was okay. When he finally reached his destination he skidded to a dead halt. The simple door in front of him was hanging loosely on its hinges. With skin prickling with high intensity he warily edged closer, scanning for motion both inside, and outside the shack. Nothing. He took a careful step over the threshold, and gasped.  
The little place had been turned upside down, and not in a gentle way. Evidence of struggle could be found everywhere. Mondo’s mattress was thrown against the other wall, with bed sheets hanging part on it and part on the floor. The small table was on its side with a broken leg, the beloved posters were torn down from the walls and shredded, and the few other items his friend possessed were either smashed to pieces or strewn across the shack.  
Mikey took it all in in a second before his eyes landed on a single object in the middle of the floor; Mondo’s cellphone. He went in and picked it up, saw all his missed calls an unread texts while anxiously wondering what had happened here, where he was and… if he was okay. But he had to be. Mikey clenched his hand around the phone and thought that he could fix this! He could figure it all out, and he could….  
The door suddenly slammed to the ground when it was roughly opened by a huge guy with greasy black hair and a slouchy posture. Right after him came a somewhat smaller, but more mean-looking fellow with a missing tooth in his devilish grin. Mikey recognized them both as members of the Purple Dragons due to the scarves they wore around their heads.  
“I told you the ringing cellphone meant that the lizard had mutant friends. An easy trap and an easy catch”, Tooth-gap cackled.  
“Yeah, yeah. But I’m still god damn sore after waiting all these freaking hours. He better not cause any trouble, or Han will just have to settle with damaged goods”, The Greased Mountain replied sourly.  
“Well I daresay he won’t be, now will you?” Tooth-gap said, the last directed at Mikey, who quickly evaluated the situation.  
He guessed there weren’t any more of them outside, but there was only one exit, effectively blocked. The shack itself, cosy as it was, was crammed with the three of them in it with very little space to maneuver in a fight. Still, it was only a couple of Purple Dragons. Mikey could handle them in his sleep after all the adventures he’d had both on earth and in the outer universe.  
“What have you done to my friend?” he demanded.  
“Never you mind your pretty shell about it, just come along and you’ll meet him soon enough”, the smaller one sneered.  
“I don’t think so, jug-head, this turtle won’t go down so easy! Especially not against ugly scum like you!”  
“You watch your mouth, toad! Or I’ll swear I’ll deliver you in bloody pieces fit into a crate! Mountain barked at him, with a temper quickly rising, but Mikey didn’t feel that friendly himself and began to swirl his nunchucks.  
“I’m warning you, I’m armed, and I’m not afraid to use them”, he growled.  
The Greased Mountain merely laughed at him with a most hostile smile that made his dark eyes glitter.  
“Oh yeah?...” The villain reached with one hand behind his back and pulled out a gun, pointing the tip right at Mikey’s head.  
“So are we.”


	2. A talk with Sensei

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sensei wishes to talk to Venus and Leo on important matters, which makes things a little... uncomfortable.

Venus and Leo were the last two heading out from the dojo when Sensei stopped them.  
“Venus, Leonardo, I wish to speak to you both. Please sit.”  
She halted, confused. The tone was casual, but if he wanted to talk to them both it had to be about what had happened in the beginning of the practise. Still, it wasn’t like Sensei to linger on a subject once he had concluded what was to be done. Leo’s raised eyeridges told her that he was thinking the same. When Sensei noticed their looks he smiled benevolently at them.   
“You do not have to be nervous, I only wish to talk to you, but still on important matters. Do you recall that one of my conditions for blessing your relationship was that we would meet for another talk in two weeks time?”  
“Yes Sensei”, Leo answered.  
“Of course”, Venus joined in, and they got down kneeling next to each other with hands on knees. She couldn’t help the nervous fluttering in her belly despite what he’d said. Even if it just was a talk, it had more than a touch of formality to it with Sensei standing tall in front of them. She suspected Leo felt something similar, but he gave no outwardly hint of it.   
Sensei gave them another warm smile.   
“In the days past, I have watched the two of you together. By what I have seen, you both look very happy, and I have drawn my own conclusions. Still, I want to hear it from you as well, that is partly why I wish to speak with you. Are you happy together?” he asked, watching them closely.   
Venus peered sideways and found Leo mirroring her own action. He wore a shy smile that probably matched her own.   
“Yes, Sensei”, was her unmistakable answer.  
“Very much”, he filled in.   
“And do you wish to continue with your relationship?”  
“Hai, Sensei”, Leo replied in a low voice.  
“Definitely”, she joined in.  
Sensei splinter clasped hands behind his back and made a small nod.  
“Very good, I suspected as much, which leads me straight on to the other part I wish to discuss with you. Have you been intimate with each other yet?”  
It took them both a second to realise what he’d been asking, and as soon as they did, their eyes almost popped out with shock. Leo’s “No, Sensei”, came out as a croak while Venus’ sounded more like a stammering, just a nanosecond after.  
“That is good to hear”, Sensei went on, as if he had only asked whether they preferred sugar in their tea, “but maybe there have been situations where you have been close to being intimate?”  
“No, Sensei!” both replied urgently.  
“Not even once?”  
“No, Sensei!!” they exclaimed in unison.  
“Well then, perhaps you have at least thought about it?”  
“No, Sensei”, Venus said while giving her head a shake. It was a moment before she realised that her voice was the only one to have replied this time. Bewildered she glanced sideways again, and saw Leo staring blankly with his head hanging very low, equipped with a very, very dark shade of red on his cheeks.  
“Hai...Sensei”, he whispered, barely audible.  
While Venus was too stunned to react in any other way than staring blankly ahead herself, she was drawn out of her shock when Sensei hummed in a way that sounded as an amused chuckle. He then shifted into a more relaxed position with both hands leaning on his staff in front of him with his head slightly leaning to the side. His face wore a very fond smile towards them both with a twinkling in his eyes as he spoke again.  
“Forgive me my amusement, but I myself am not surprised at all. It is only natural that young people start having these thoughts. We all do eventually, and it is also very common that the males tend to have these thoughts before the females do.” He leaned slightly towards Leo, who in turn had lifted his gaze towards his father, but the deeply red shade had not diminished.  
“With that said…” he now turned to Venus instead, “even though the thoughts have started to occur, it does not mean that the person is even near being ready to take the physical step...”, he smiled reassuringly towards her, and Venus found herself smiling weakly in return. “Nor will he EVER attempt such a thing, until both parts are ready!” The last was again directed towards Leo, in a stern voice with a clear underlying threat that made Leo wince visibly.  
“Of course not Sensei! Never!” he exclaimed indignantly, with the color possibly spreading further on his face. It made Venus giggle inwardly. Excruciatingly embarrassing as the whole situation was, she couldn’t help feeling both sorry for and amused over Leo, as it probably was worse for him. While she couldn’t even nearly describe herself as being open about these matters, there was no question that her boyfriend was more prude in talking about it, especially with others. He proved it just then by hiding his burning face in his hands. He even moaned a little…  
‘Well, it can’t be easy since he was just forced to admit that he’s been thinking about us having…’, Venus stopped her train of thought and went straight back to feeling uncomfortable herself. She tried to focus on Sensei who calmly stepped back and forth in front of them.  
“I shall be as brief as I can, but it is of vital importance that you understand why I want to talk to you about this subject. Well then, I believe you know that all over the world the old custom was, and in many places still is, that a man and a woman were expected to stay chaste until their wedding night. In most cases, it was more important for the woman to stay a virgin. Do you know why?” He looked down on them intently.   
“Ehm… because of religion?” Venus answered uncertainly, not knowing where he was going with this.  
“Maybe… because of honor, purity?” Leo guessed feebly. Sensei nodded and continued.  
“A complicated question with no simple answer. Yes, some of the reasons probably were as you have said, but perhaps the most important reason for the woman herself, was to avoid the risk of a premarital pregnancy.”  
Both Leo and Venus had each a new round of blushing cheeks.  
“In many cultures, being with child without a husband meant no security for herself or the baby, leaving her little or no means to provide what a new life requires. Now, I have no intention to demand a marriage when you both feel that you are ready, whenever that may be, but you have to take precautions.”   
Sensei finally sat down crossed-legged in front of them with the staff over his knees. His tone was mild, but he pressed the importance of what he said.  
“Since we are all some of the first of our kind, we simply do not know if any of us are able to produce a child, but I do not want you to risk it. A baby requires, and deserves, a proper home and conditions where it can thrive. I did my best when fate gave me four turtle toddlers, and it has brought me immense joy. But it is a burden and a constant worry to provide the bare necessities when we are prohibited from taking open part in the outside world. I do not wish it for you, do you understand?” he looked at them intently. Leo and Venus glanced at each other, then faced forward again to chant “Hai, Sensei”, simultaneously.  
“Very good”, he sounded pleased. “And now Venus, I must ask you to leave us. There are further things I wish to discuss with my son alone.”  
Venus simply bowed her head before rising smoothly. On her way out she peeked over her shoulder and met Leo’s eyes. Both looked hastily away, and she trembled a little as she stepped out of the doors. Their next conversation would be a little… uncomfortable.

Leo kept staring at the door after she’d left, feeling a knot building inside him. He had to explain to her, but how? He shook his head, which did nothing to help diminish the embarrassment. Damn it, just having it in his head made him twist, but having to talk to her about it would be... he rolled his head in an attempt to distract himself. Then his father spoke.  
“I expect you to take extra great responsibility in preventing a pregnancy, when the time comes.”  
Leo locked eyes with him, and made sure his sincerity came through when he answered, no matter how awkward he felt.  
“I will, I promise.”  
Sensei nodded.  
“Thank you, that soothes my worries. I do not doubt that you would have taken up your part of the duty should misfortune have found us, but the burden is always much heavier on the female, and more so for mutants. Take great care in not placing that burden on her.”  
Leo straightened his back even more. “I will”, he said formally.   
“Good. Now, I thought we could have The Talk while we are at it. Is there anything in particular you want to ask?” Sensei prompted as he got up to fetch his tea-tray. Leo felt how his face began to burn again.  
“N-no, not that I can think of right now…”  
“Really? I know that Internet can be very educational, but do you really mean you have no worries or questions at all?” He set the tray beside them and prepared two cups before he poured steaming water into them while giving Leo time to ponder the question.  
“W-well....” he had to give it a few tries before he could make his tongue form the words, but his father waited patiently for him to find his voice. “I’ve read… that it hurts… the first time for girls.”  
Sensei nodded while he sipped peacefully from his cup.   
“That is very common, unfortunately. The level of pain can vary, but it is only the first time unless you are being too rough or going too fast ahead.”  
“But… there must be something I can do?”, he inquired.  
“There are not any guarantees I can give. For most women, it does hurt no matter the precautions. Still, there are things the man can do to reduce the pain.”  
Leo leaned forward. “Then I want to know how.”  
Sensei smiled at him, with pride showing in his eyes.  
“Well then, let us start at the beginning. When a man feels attracted to a woman, he…”  
Sensei talked, and he listened intently. His blushing never went away completely, but thankfully wore off the longer it took. Soon he changed into a cross-legged position himself. The tea cup was in his hands, but he was too concentrated to drink. This wasn’t a conversation between a Sensei and his student, it was a talk between father and son. 

Ve sat in the living-area where Raph played on the pinball machine, and Donnie sat on the couch with her. Mikey had taken off a while ago to check on a friend, but she hadn’t been able to ask what it was about until he was out in the tunnels. She and the present younger brother were now discussing various upgrades that Donnie was thinking on adding to the Party Wagon. He counted of several suggestions that all involved new kind of weapons, and he got a ton of approval from Raph. Ve, on the other hand, debated on the advantages of a simple paint job for better camouflage.  
“Just think about it. If you painted it plain white or plain black, you could operate more easily under the radar. As it is now, every enemy recognises us from miles away.”  
“Well, true, but you have to admit that it would only work the first time. Yeah sure, the current paintjob is an eyecatcher, but once we’ve completed a mission with a black wagon, the Foot clan and the Purple Dragons will both be on the lookout for a black wagon…”  
“And how much fun would that be? Paint… no fire power at all…” Raph added in a grumpy voice, which Venus pointedly ignored.  
“Then I guess that you should invent some kind of projecting camouflage that can be changed through the Party wagon’s computer into any kind of vehicle”, she said with a shrug, but Donnie’s brain started ticking and so did his mumbling as he pondered the possibilities. He was already discussing, (explaining) the pros and cons with holographic programmes when Leo suddenly came out from the dojo.   
Venus grew quiet, and it looked like Leo did too when they made eye contact. He stood there hesitating, shifting his gaze from her to his own feet while rubbing the back of his head unconsciously. Soon enough he started walking slowly towards her with an insecure look.   
Finally Donnie noticed that she wasn’t responding to his ideas anymore and turned around to see what she was looking at.  
“There you are! I was beginning to get worried”, he said.  
“Yeah, sure wondered what took you so long. You’re in more trouble?” Raph inquired, but only half-heartedly. Leo ignored them both, with eyes intent on Ve. He looked every bit as uncomfortable as she felt.   
“Ehm, Ve… can I talk to you? Please?..” he asked. Both of his brothers picked up the tone and scrutinized him more closely. Venus got up halfway.  
“Uhm.... well..” she hesitated. Donnie looked back and forth between them.  
“What’s going on with you two? Has something happened?”  
“No, nothing’s happened”, he said dismissively without looking at the guys, instead he got closer to her and lowered his voice with plea in his eyes. “Please?” he asked again.   
Venus’ mind hadn’t stopped churning over what had been said and implied in the dojo. When she had been chatting to her brothers it had managed to distract her enough that the voices in her head had retracted to a quiet part of her brain where she could ignore their blabbering. Now that she was facing Leo they had come out screaming at her, raising questions to which she wasn’t sure she wanted the answers. Some damaged part of her could possibly make her flinch away if Leo got too close, but when she looked into his eyes she saw his great kindness and care for her, seasoned with worry. ‘You know him’, she firmly reminded herself, ‘he would never hurt you’. She hated how the tension still refused to give up its hold entirely.  
“Okay”, she said in an equally low voice. Leo offered a weak smile and slowly headed towards his room.   
Donnie still sat looking at them with one eye ridge raised, pondering the puzzle before him.   
“Okay guys, seriously. What in the world were you talking about in there??”  
Raph squinted at them too, he hadn’t started a new game when he lost the other. His gaze went from them to the dojo’s doors, and when they settled on her and Leo again he wore a wicked smile.  
“My oh my, I think the Fearless leader here has had ‘The Talk’ with Sensei.”  
Donnie gaped. “Really?” he inquired with an amused tone.  
Leo’s burning cheeks was all the confirmation they needed, and they started howling with laughter, making Leo involuntarily quicken his pace to the point of running with Venus on his heels.  
At his door he opened it and let her enter first before he followed close and shut it quickly to block out the sound of his howling brothers. As soon as the handle clicked he turned to her with an earnest voice.  
“It’s not what you think.”  
She twitched involuntarily. “Really?” she said with a disbelieving tone.  
“No, it’s not. Please believe me!”  
“So you haven’t thought about us having sex?” she said flatly, which made him flinch.  
“No! No, not really…” Leo replied in a voice that lowered itself. Venus tensed up, and focused on her breathing to prevent her anxiety from building.  
“So you have thought about it! Is that what I am to you? Are you taking it slow in hopes that I will finally loosen up a little?” The logical part of her knew that that was very unfair to say, but her voice was spiralling upwards, just as her control spiralled downwards.  
“Yes… no… of course not. I haven't thought about it... actively... I wouldn’t…” he babbled frantically, waving his arms. It didn’t help her panic that threatened to erupt.  
"How can you ‘not actively’ think about something? Either you have or you haven’t."  
Leo seemed to force air into his lungs, struggling to form the words:  
“... I… I…”  
“Damn it Leo, tell me! I’m freaking out here!”  
“It was A DREAM!” he burst out, too embarrassed to look at her. It shocked Venus into silence while Leo slumped down on his bed, hiding the side of his face with one of his hands. He took a few deep breaths before he slowly explained.  
“It… it was a dream. I don’t remember the time or place, but you were there and we were making out like we usually do. At some point you took the lead and kissed me more passionately, and I… willingly followed your pace. But then you… ehm... surprised me by pushing me backwards onto my shell, and I was too stunned to move as you began to crawl up to me with a smoldering look… I couldn’t breathe! You kissed me again just before you... straddled me, making my skin prickle. And when you made the first move I… woke up because…... I had come in my sleep…” he finished barely audible, still hiding his face.  
Still frozen from the revelation, Venus watched him. He looked devastated, ashamed of something out of his control. She slowly sat down next to him, but still kept some distance.  
“Was it only once?” she asked. She had to know. Leo shook his head.  
“No, it happened once more. It was almost the same, but at the end I woke up just before I… so then I-I… finished it.”  
Venus nodded slowly to herself and tried not to panic, but something was gripping hard around her heart. She wasn’t ready for this.  
“And now you think about it all the time when we’re alone together”, she said sadly.  
Leo shook his head vigorously at her words and finally glanced at her.  
“No, I don’t”, he said so earnestly it gave her hope. He fidgeted around before he made himself turn partly towards her. His hand asked for hers, and she let him braid his fingers into hers. It felt comforting.  
“Look,.. it happens that I get flashes of that dream when I see you, but… I wouldn’t be able to bring myself to do anything like it when we’re together, and I don’t want to either.”  
Venus cautiously lifted her gaze to his blue, and they showed only sincerity. The corner of Leo’s mouth went upwards as he continued:  
“To be honest, I think I would’ve panicked if you actually had tried something like that in reality”, he said awkwardly, which made her chuckle in return. Leo’s smile widened as he looked fondly at her, making her heart grow lighter.   
“Frankly, I’m not anywhere near ready for that yet”, he said in a low voice.  
“Neither am I”, she breathed out, and let her forehead rest against his. Leo sighed with contentment.  
“So,... we’re both on the same level?” he asked.  
“Almost, you‘ve begun having thoughts after all. So you are slightly ahead of me”, she kindly pointed out.  
“True, but I would never knowingly do anything that made you uncomfortable. Do you want me to take a step back?” he inquired, but Venus shook her head.  
“Nah, I like when you take the lead”, she whispered, “As long as you promise not to make any huge leaps forward.” She let her lips brush his.  
“I promise”, he mumbled, kissing her softly. “The only thing I’ve planned, is to kiss your neck”, he said between more kisses.  
“Why the neck?” she mumbled kissing him back.  
“To test something I’ve read about”, he replied in a whisper, which made Venus’ heart flutter.  
Suddenly someone banged on the door.  
“Leo, you gotta get out here!” A voice sounded through the door.  
“Go away Raph!” he shouted back, not turning away from Venus.  
“No seriously, NOW! Mikey’s in trouble!”  
“What??”  
In an instant both Venus and Leo were at the door and ripping it open. Outside was Raph with T-phone in hand.   
“Someone’s taken a shot against Mikey.”


End file.
